12 hours Ago By Laura Colgan
A 41 year old woman has been taken into custody on suspicion of murdering her husband before an extreme cover up bid. Jennifer Gledhill, of Cottonwood Heights allegedly confessed to a confidential informant that she shot her estranged husband while he was asleep and buried him in an undisclosed shallow grave, according to police statements. Gledhill was arrested this Wednesday and is currently being held without bond at the Salt Lake County Jail, as per court documents.
The victim, Matthew Johnson, aged 51 and a member of the Utah National Guard, remains missing since Thursday. He was reportedly killed between the night of September 20 and the early hours of September 21. Michigan girl, 13, 'stabs sister, 7, to death after argument over flushing the toilet' Indianapolis mother mourns daughter shot and killed in armed robbery days before her 19th birthday This information came to light when the informant relayed Gledhill's confession to the authorities on September 28, which was six days after she "openly admitted" to the crime, as indicated by police records.
The informant detailed that Gledhill claimed to have shot Johnson on their bed, buried his body, and then proceeded to remove and destroy various items from their home to conceal her actions. During a search of the residence, investigators discovered a bloodstain beneath the bed on the carpet, blood on the bed frame, and signs that a wall had been cleaned with bleach. Additionally, Gledhill had acquired a new mattress, as noted in the arrest warrant documents.
Since September 20, there has been no communication from Johnson, and he failed to show up for work on September 23. Authorities are operating under the belief that he is deceased. Court documents reveal that the couple was embroiled in a bitter divorce and custody battle over their three children.
Gledhill had secured a temporary protective order against Johnson in late August, but a permanent order was denied on Sept.16 - just days before the shooting - after Commissioner Russell Minas reviewed videos of arguments and text message exchanges between the pair. Minas concluded that no abuse had taken place.
He stated that Gledhill was equally confrontational and suggested that seeking a restraining order seemed to be "a litigation tactic" in their ongoing divorce proceedings, which were initiated in July. "The conduct of the parties over the past several months is representative of a highly dysfunctional marriage bringing out the worst in the parties - clearly suggestive that an action for divorce should have been filed long before reaching the current state of affairs," Minas wrote. Gledhill's legal representatives in the restraining order and divorce cases declined to comment on Thursday.
No attorney is listed for her in court records..
